Well-Being

Even if the pursuit of well-being can be traced to the dawn of mankind—or maybe beyond, if one considers, for example, the pleasure that apes seem to derive from rubbing each other's backs—its commodification is a relatively recent phenomenon. Its meaning is nebulous, often being equated with happiness, health, or prosperity, as well as the term welfare. The latter sense of the word implies a policy-oriented interpretation that well-being can be assessed, quantified, and maybe even improved on by investing various resources in key domains such as nutrition, hygiene, or education. And yet senses of well-being are highly subjective and a matter of personal experience, the markers of which may remain imperceptible to even the most intimate onlooker. In this respect, well-being is a subjectively ...